12 Tips That Will Help You Do Black Friday Like A Pro

1. Shop using discounted gift cards

Who doesn’t love a great deal!? A simple way to do this is to shop with discounted gift cards. Before you start shopping, visit a site like Raise.com to find discounted gift cards. You can find gift cards for hundreds of retailers. Raise.com is probably my number one Black Friday shopping secret.

2. Prioritize your shopping list

When making your list of items you need to buy, list them first by store and then by order of importance. This will put the “must find” items at the top so you can focus on finding them as you visit each store. When you get there, first walk to that department to find the item you want.

3. Have a backup plan

There will be tons of people shopping, so you may no find the item you want. That means you need to have backup plan in place. Add a second item to your list, just in case you can’t find the one thing you really want.

4. Shop with a friend

Shopping with friends is fun, but it can be helpful too! If there are a few must have items on your list, you can work together to find them. Your friend can visit the electronics section for the video game you want while you are in the toy aisle finding another item on your list. Divide and conquer!

5. Leave the kids at home

This one is pretty self explanatory… There is a lot of standing in line. No one likes to hear “I’m bored,” “I need to potty,” “Can we go home?” or deal with toddler meltdowns. Leave them with your spouse or a babysitter for your own sanity.

7. Price check in the store

As you find the items you want, you can do a quick scan with Amazon to see if it’s cheaper elsewhere. Their app has a feature which allows you to scan the bar code of the products right in the store.

If it’s cheaper on Amazon, add it to your cart and check out at the end of your shopping day.

Remember, not every item you want will be on sale, so you need to take a moment to see if you can find it lower elsewhere.

8. Shop for other holidays/events

I like to make a list of the events coming up during the following year. For example, if I know someone is getting married next year, I look for a gift ahead of time. It’s a good idea to buy smaller toys to set aside for kids’ birthdays the following year.

9. Don’t wear red to Target

Duh!

10. Shop late

Retailers want to keep the shoppers in the store all day long. Sometimes they offer late shopper deals as well as the early bird offers. Watch the ad to find out which items will be discounted later in the day. You might be able to sleep in, avoid the crowds and still score an amazing deal.

11. Set a budget and use cash

Before you even make a list, you need to set a budget. Once that is set, go to the ATM and get cash. Leave your credit cards at home! There will be no way you can overspend because you won’t have the money to do it.

12. Get Social

Some stores offer extra discounts and rewards for customers who check in on Facebook. Customers who like or follow them with special alerts to Black Friday discounts and incentives. And of course texts, tweets, and social media posts are an easy way to share Black Friday shopping info with your friends.